


Love and Tears

by AverageMarvelBitch



Series: Prompts Challenge [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, M/M, Major Character Death (but not really?), Mentions of Blood, That's all there is, That's it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 06:24:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17761511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AverageMarvelBitch/pseuds/AverageMarvelBitch
Summary: Prompt Challenge: “Please don’t cry. I can’t stand to see you cry”.After a mission, Steve is in bad shape and Tony is desperate.





	Love and Tears

**Author's Note:**

> Make me happy, leave a comment ;)

It was three in the morning when Tony got the call. He woke up to FRIDAY’S voice whispering “ _Boss, I have Romanoff on the line for you”_ in a urgent tone. At first, he ignored her, murmuring a _call later_ while turning around and hugging Steve’s pillow. He took a deep breath, smelling his boyfriend’s cologne and smiled, eyes still closed. FRIDAY insisted. “ _It’s about Captain Rogers, sir”._ He immediately woke up, sitting at the bed, while rubbing his hands on his face, trying to put himself together.

“I’m here, patch her through”.

“Tony”, Natasha’s voice suddenly filled the room. She sounded desperate, worried. “The mission went south. Steve… He’s… It’s bad, Tony. Get Cho and the medical team ready, we’ll be at the compound soon”.

“What happened? Natasha, what’s wrong with Steve?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t talk right now, Tony”, at the background he heard Sam’s voice _put pressure on it, keep putting pressure on it_ , “Just be ready for us, ok? ETA 15 minutes”. And then silence.

It took Tony a minute to process everything. _Steve,_ he thought, staring at the wall in front of him, _Steve’s hurt_. Suddenly, he jumped off the bed, putting on pants as he screamed at FRIDAY to get Dr. Cho.

“Already did, boss, soon as Romanoff called. She’s up and on her way to the medical wing, and so is the crew”, the AI responded, “it’s gonna be alright, boss. He’s gonna be fine”.

 _I hope you’re right, FRI,_ he thought, leaving the room in a hurry. _I hope you’re right._

* * *

Those fifteen minutes had felt like fifteen years for Tony. He stood there at the helipad, walking from one side to the other, unable to stand still as he and the medical crew waited for the quinjet to arrive. When it finally did, and its doors opened, Tony felt his legs give out. There was blood. So much blood. Natasha and Sam were covered in it as they pushed a stretcher across the lawn, screaming at Cho to _hurry up, he’s lost too much blood_.

Tony didn’t know how, but all at once his legs started working again and he quickly followed the medical crew, desperately trying to get close to the stretcher where Steve _Steve_ was lying, bloodied, unmoving and dangerously pale. They took him straight to the surgical room and Tony tried to follow, but was stopped by a set of big, strong arms, who held him back as he fought and screamed and cried Steve’s name over and over and over again between sobs.

“Calm down, Man of Iron. Your Midgardian doctors will help the good Captain now. But you must calm yourself”, he heard Thor’s voice in his ear.

“Tony, calm down or we’re gonna have to sedate you”, Natasha said. She tried to grab his face, to force him to look at her and not at the closed door where Steve had just gone through, but stopped before she could touch him, looking at her bloodied hands. _Steve’s blood_ , Tony thought as the hands stopped close enough to his face that he could smell the metallic scent coming from them, _Steve’s blood, Steve’s blood, Steve’s blood_ he kept screaming inside his own mind in a never ending loop.

All of a sudden, a rush of calmness and peace flooded him. The screaming _he was screaming?_ stopped and his mind felt empty. He looked to the side and saw Wanda, her eyes and finger red as the soft mist of the same color slowly twirled around him. He stared at the Scarlet Witch’s eyes as his body began to feel light and relaxed. And that’s when he heard it.

“HE’S CRASHING”, Dr. Cho’s shout entered his ears, “WE’RE LOSING HIM”.

Immediately, Wanda cried out as she closed her eyes and held her head with both hands, clearly in pain. Tony finally managed to get out of Thor’s strong hold and ran to the glass window on the wall that separated them from Steve. He watched horrified as Cho and the other doctor desperately tried to revive the super soldier while the machine screamed at them. Then, came the sound. A long piercing sound echoed in the room in a never ending loop.

And the world stopped. He felt the cold glass beneath his hands as he pressed them against the window that separated him from the love of his life. He felt the tears streaming down his face as he stared at Steve, lying there, unmoving. He felt the Earth stop moving and saw the colors disappear from this world, slowly and gradually, turning everything blurry and gray. The sound of the heart monitor was the only thing he could hear. He did not hear Thor gasp. He did not hear Clint’s soft _no_. He didn’t see Natasha cover her mouth with her hands, pain clear in her eyes. He didn’t notice Wanda on the ground, hugging herself as if trying to keep herself from falling to pieces, while Vision hugged her, a somber expression is his face. He saw nothing but Steve. He heard nothing but his own voice inside his head, repeating the same thing over and over and over again… _I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you._

And as his heart was ripped apart, as his sobs made it difficult to breath, as he fought to keep his eyes opened, unblinking, because he could not _could not_ tear them from Steve, he heard it. The most beautiful sound in the world.

The beeping was soft. Reassuring. Every beat making it easier and easier for Tony to finally breathe again. _Alive. Alive. He’s alive. Alive._

When Dr. Cho came out of the surgical room much later, they were all standing there, holding each other as they waited for news. And when she smiled, it was like the world had exploded in color once again. Tony felt light, free, like he’d been carrying the entire world on his back for a century and, suddenly, the weight had been lifted.

“Captain Rogers is going to be just fine”.

* * *

It took Steve three weeks to finally wake up. And during all that time, Tony did not leave his side. He slept at Steve’s room, showered at Steve’s room and the only reason he ever ate was because Natasha ― and sometimes Vision ― would bring him something and remind him to _eat your damn food, Tony, or you’re going to pass out when Steve wakes up_.

When the Captain finally opened his eyes, Tony was sitting right beside him, focused on his tablet, updating his boyfriend’s uniform while softly complaining about Steve’s refusal to _just wear goddamn armor._

“Doesn’t look as good on me, Shellhead”, a soft, hoarse voice responded.

Tony looked to his side, brown eyes meeting blue ones for the first time in three weeks, watching as his boyfriend smiled at him. And he wept.

He threw himself at Steve, hugging him as he sobbed, whispering _I love you_ and _don’t leave me again_ as the blonde hugged him back as best as he could, burying his nose on Tony’s hair and he whispered back _I’m sorry_ and _I love you so much_.

“Please don’t cry. I can’t stand to see you cry”.

“You don’t get to tell me that, Rogers”, Tony replied, getting up and looking into Steve’s eyes as he softly caressed his face, “You died, Steve. You died and I just…”

When he couldn’t finish, Steve pulled him in for another hug, kissing his boyfriend’s forehead.

“I’m sorry, Shellhead. I’m so sorry. But it’s okay. I’m fine now. I’m not leaving you. Ever”.

And as Tony continued to cry, hugging the blonde tightly, face buried on his neck, Steve kept on stroking his hair, whispering in his ear…

“I’m here. I love you. I’ll never leave you”.


End file.
